The UN’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories has repeated her criticism of the European Union and its member states over policies she said are aiding the destruction of Palestine.
Speaking to reporters at the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday, Francesca Albanese said the EU and its members had failed to uphold their international duties regarding Gaza and Palestine.
"It is a very grave situation that, particularly due to the objections of Germany and Italy, the suspension of the trade agreement (with Israel) has still not gone forward," she said.
Citing ongoing ties between the EU and Israel, including weapons transfers and Israel’s participation in the bloc’s Horizon Europe research programme, Albanese said the issue is not EU inaction but that the EU, through its member states and policies, is contributing to the destruction of Palestine.
"In my view, the situation is so dire that it is beyond comment," she said.
Asked about her previous remarks on a two-state solution, she said there is no point in engaging in political debate about two states unless the situation facing Palestinians is addressed.
"There is an ethnic cleansing in the West Bank that is almost unprecedented in the last 80 years, and with extraordinary violence," she said.
New genocide
Albanese said many violent illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank are European citizens, and that numerous European nationals have served in the Israeli army.
"How can we talk about two states when the population is disappearing, when much of the land on which the independent State of Palestine was to be established has been destroyed or is under occupation?" she said.
"We are facing a new genocide, and we are at risk of being complicit in it," she said, adding that this complicity contributes not only to the destruction of Palestine but also to the erosion of the EU’s core values.
Albanese also said US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza does not comply with international law, citing last year’s International Court of Justice ruling that Israel’s occupation of besieged Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is unlawful.
She added that compensation is required for violence against Palestinians and that displaced people must be allowed to return.
Responding to a question about disarming Hamas and removing it from power in Gaza, Albanese said the right to self-determination means Palestinians choose their own leaders.
"Just as Israelis can elect a criminal, Palestinians can also vote for someone the international community does not like, or not. But that is not our concern. What concerns us is that Palestinians live freely and in peace — just like Israelis," she said.
She also reiterated her call for the immediate suspension of the EU–Israel military cooperation agreement.
